HOUSTON – Cecily Aguilar has pleaded guilty in connection to the 2020 murder of Fort Hood soldier Vanessa Guillen, according to Guillen attorney, Natalie Khawam.
Aguilar was charged in July 2020 with conspiracy to tamper with three felony counts of conspiracy to tamper with evidence.
Recommended Videos
On Tuesday in federal court, Aguilar pleaded guilty to one count of accessory after the fact and three counts of making a false statement. She faces a combined maximum prison sentence of 30 years.
Here’s what happened to Vanessa Guillen
According to court documents, officers interviewed Aguilar multiple times during their investigation because they believed her boyfriend, Aaron Robinson, was the last person to see Guillen before she went missing.
On the night in question, which is the same day human remains were found in the area where Robinson’s cell phone was pinged on April 22, 2020, officers spoke with Aguilar at the store where she worked, according to court documents.
Later, officers saw Aguilar get into a van and drive to Fort Hood. The officers then pulled over the van and detained Aguilar and the driver, per court documents.
Aguilar was not permitted to be in Fort Hood, but she said she was looking for a vehicle her estranged husband had left for her, according to the court documents.
Officers let the driver go and informed Aguilar she was not under arrest and was free to leave. However, they also asked if she would like to go with them to the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command Office in Fort Hood to be interviewed, and she agreed, according to court documents.
Court documents stated Aguilar was not handcuffed, but her phone was not returned, which was taken earlier by an officer because she refused to stop texting during the initial traffic stop.
At the Fort Hood office, Aguilar was led into an integration room where she was constantly watched by at least two officers. Court documents stated that Texas Ranger Travis Dendy entered and interrogated Aguilar from about 8:30 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Aguilar later confessed that she previously lied when she said Robinson and her not leaving the house on the night of April 22, 2022, according to court documents. She told the police that the two of them went for a long drive.
Aguilar then told officers that Robinson took her to the woods and showed her Guillen’s body in a tough box and made her help him dismember the body, per the court documents.
Aguilar went on to conduct several controlled calls to Robinson and told officers that Robinson would try to escape or shoot himself before being taken into custody.
On the next day, July 1, 2020, Robinson, who is suspected of Guillen’s death, died by suicide as police tried to take him into custody. According to Aguilar’s account, on April 22, Robinson killed Guillen by hitting her in the head with a hammer while at Fort Hood.